Starbucks Reports 13% Rise in Profit: Hot Trends

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Popular searches on the Internet include Starbucks ( SBUX) as the coffee shop retailer reported fiscal first-quarter profit that rose 13%, in line with analysts' estimates.

The results were driven by sales increases in the Americas and a 6% rise in sales at stores around the world that have been open at least a year.

Starbucks said it earned $432.2 million, or 57 cents a share, in the quarter, up from $382.1 million, or 50 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue rose 11% to $3.8 billion. Analysts had been looking for revenue of $3.85 billion and a profit of 57 cents a share.

CEO Howard Schultz has been trying to boost sales and turn around the company where it has struggled. Starbucks has closed weak stores in the U.S., focused on accelerating growth overseas in countries like India and Vietnam, developed its own home brewer system, the Verismo, and expanded beyond coffee with juice and baked goods.

Vine is trending as Twitter has unveiled its new video-sharing application.

Through Vine, users can record videos up to six seconds in length and then post and share them on Twitter. The videos will run on an endless loop similar to GIFs. Twitter hopes keeping the videos short will make them more conducive to sharing and originality.

"Like tweets, the brevity of videos on Vine, 6 seconds or less, inspires creativity," said Michael Sippey, Twitter vice president of product.

Vine is currently available on the Web and on iOS, thought Twitter said it is working toward bringing the service to other platforms. Users can download the app from the Apple App Store. Users don't have to have a Twitter account to use Vine.

Microsoft ( MSFT) is another popular search. The company reported second-quarter results that missed on revenue but topped analysts' earnings estimates.

Microsoft attributed record sales numbers to the introduction of Windows 8, the revamped PC operating system that was introduced on Oct. 26, 2012. The company said its Windows division reported revenue that climbed 24% from a year ago to $5.88 billion.

The company said for the quarter ended Dec. 31, it earned $6.38 billion, or 76 cents a share, on revenue of $21.46 billion. Analysts had been looking for earnings of 75 cents a share on revenue of $21.56 billion.

The chatter on Main Street (a.k.a. Google, Yahoo! and other search sites) is always of interest to investors on Wall Street. Thus, each day, TheStreet compiles the stories that are trending on the Web, and highlights the news that could make stocks move.

-- Written by Brittany Umar.

Brittany joined TheStreet.com TV in November 2006 after completing a degree in Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers College. Previously, Brittany interned at the local ABC affiliate in New York City WABC-TV 7 where she helped research and produce On Your Side, a popular consumer advocacy segment.